Germany (Night of the Living Alternate History Map Game)
The Germany (German: Deutschland), also known as Greater Germany (German: Großdeutsche), officially the Federal Monarchy of Germany (German: ), is a federal constitutional parliamentary monarchy in western-central Europe. The country consists of 27 states, and its legislative capital and largest city is Berlin, while its executive capital is Vienna. Germany covers an area of 513,136 square kilometres and has a largely temperate seasonal climate, while in parts of the south has a alpine climate. The nation of Germany is bordered by Denmark to the north, the Livonian Confederation, the Greater United Empire (GUE) to the east, Italy, Croatia and Switzerland to the south, and France, Belgium and The Netherlands to the west. The nation is one of the most populous of all of Europe, and is one of the world's major world powers. Germany is the major economic, political and military power of the European continent, and a historic leader in many theoretical and technical fields. After Austria's victory against Scandinavia in the Holy Roman War, the lands of the German people were under the control of the Habsburg Monarchy, either directly or indirectly through Austria's hegemony. With the signing of the Treaty of Salzburg ending the war, the states of Austria and the German states in the Holy Roman War were united into the modern nation of Germany. The region of Germania, inhabited by tribes of Germanic peoples north of the Roman Empire, was documented as early as the year 100 AD. During a a period of German history known as the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward, into the former Roman provinces, establishing successor kingdoms throughout much of Europe. The German territories would form a central part of the Holy Roman Empire as early as the tenth century, formed from the empire of Charlemagne and the Frankish Empire. During the sixteenth century, northern German regions became the center of the Protestant Reformation while southern regions such as Bavaria and western parts remained dominated by Roman Catholic denominations. The two factions would clash in the Thirty Years' War, marking the beginning of the Catholic–Protestant divide that has characterized German society ever since. The northern states would eventually become dominated by the nation of Prussia, while the southern German states would become dominated by the nation of Austria. After the outcome of the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states. In 1871 the nation of Prussia and several German states in its sphere of influence formed the German Empire, which controlled much of modern-day Germany, while excluding nation of Austria. The German Empire was one of the main states that fought for the Central Powers in the first world war. In 1918 the German Empire was defeated and was forced to cede a number of territories. The Empire was also replaced by the Weimar Republic, a federal republic and parliamentary representative democracy. In 1933 Adolf Hitler was sworn in as chancellor of Germany, beginning a period marked by a fascist government, and Germany's involvement in the second world war. After the conclusion of World War II in 1945 the nation of Germany was divided by the Allied Powers to form regions of occupation. With the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union governing the eastern section of Germany, and the democratic nations in the Allies governing the west, Germany was divided into the nations of East Germany and West Germany. In 1969 the zombie infection entered the continent of Europe, and immediately unleashes havoc across several nations. Because of the incoordination between western and eastern Germany, humanitarian aid and supplies were unable to quickly reach across central Europe, and Germany was left particularly destroyed. Both halves of Germany collapsed into small communities and nations across central Europe, which would not be reunified for years later. Germany was reunified in 1995 when the Federal Monarchy of Germany was established. Since its reunification, Germany has emerged as the major superpower of Europe, and due to tensions with the Greater United Empire (GUE) and the superpower Russian Federation, has built up an powerful military force not seen at such scale since World War II. History Pre-Apocalypse Following Nazi Germany's defeat during World War II in 1945, the country was divided between Soviet east and American-Allied west. The states of West Germany, a parliamentary democracy and NATO member, and East Germany, a totalitarian Communist dictatorship, emerged from the former occupied zones, dividing Germany for years to come. Zombie infection would first reach West Germany in 1969 primarily through its border with France. West and East German officials were unable to cooperate to organize forces, causing West Germany to become overrun. The border walls and defenses marking the eastern border helped to stop the spread of zombies, but eventually civil uproar and supply shortages caused East Germany to fall to infection. Both halves of Germany collapsed into small communities and nations across central Europe, which would not be reunified for years later. Austria Main article: Austria By the early 1970's the zombie infection had spread to the landlocked federal republic nation of Austria, bordering Germany to the south. The infestation slowly ripped apart the Austrian government, forcing President Heinz Fischer and other members of the government to flee to remote estates in the Austrian Alps region. In major cities the Austrian army had largely failed to contain the infection, and Vienna was largely considered lost. Seizing the opportunity the long since expelled House of Habsburg-Lorraine managed to gather a small following among Austrian survivors. Karl Thomas Robert Maria Franziskus Georg Bahnam, more commonly known as Karl Habsburg-Lothringen, or in English, Karl von Habsburg, leader of the House, organized relief efforts in the city, leading to an increase in popularity. Parallel to the Habsburg efforts many like-minded individuals in Austria begin organizing into the newly created Austrian Nationalist Party, a group dedicated to restoring order in the one great country of Austria. The Austrian government upon hearing of the faction banished Karl von Habsburg and the family from the country, but to no avail. The Nationalist Party continued to grow and merged with the followers of the Habsburgs, becoming a strong faction among the Austrian survivors. By the summer of 1972 the Nationalists had entered Vienna and secured the city from the infection. Large pockets of the infection were systematically targeted by the local militia, clearing the city until it was inhabitable for humans. Large amounts of the civilian population was also conscripted, creating a large defensive force to protect the city. The Nationalist party became the dominant force in the city, uniting the many rival factions to continue fighting the Zombie infection. Roadblocks and barricades were also established around the city. The Habsburgs were once again officially crowned as the royal family of Austria. The Austrian Republic stationed in the Austrian Alps, formed from the former government and those loyal to the republic still remaining in the west, opposed the Habsburgs. The republic continuously fought to retake Vienna and their people, but were continuously fought back by the Nationalist forces. Karl von Habsburg, king of Nationalist Austria, as it begins to be called, began a guerrilla war against the Austrian government. The city of Innsbruck erupted into civil war where the Nationalist party attempted to take hold, becoming the forefront of the civil war. In 1976 the Austrian Nationalists finally managed to secure the Austrian Alps after years of civil war with the Austrian government. The new nation, ruled by the Habsburgs, was established in Vienna. Governor positions were given to nine officers of the Nationalist army, ruling over each of the nine Austrian provinces, and in charge of clearing all resistance to Habsburg rule. Karl von Habsburg was officially coronated as Karl I of Austria, and king of the new Holy Roman Empire. Similar to the previous Holy Roman Empire, the new organization is also tasked with clearing the German nations, and uniting its people. Austria invited all German and central European nations to join the new organization to establish stability in the region, become the foundation for the German nation. A one hundred man senate is established in Vienna tasked with making decisions for the nation. A grand council of twenty men is also established for the purpose of making international decisions for the Holy Roman Empire. Despite the creation of the monarchy in Austria, the new regime welcomed the democratic process to some degree, leading to the creation of several large political parties. In Salzburg, a previous city-state not heavily influenced by the Nationalists, the Austrian Progressive Party would be founded by Leopold Füster. The Progressive Party, an alternative to jingoistic nationalism common in the Nationalist party, would become some what popular, especially in the west of the country. Similarly, in the Austrian Alps the Austrian Liberal Party would take shape, formed from the ex-supporters of the old government, attracting a small following of republicans and other supporters. Italian War Main article: Italian War Background With central Italy overrun the Italian people fell back to Naples and the Confederate Mediterranean. By the early 1980's the Italian people had managed to push back from their strongholds in the south and retake Rome. The Kingdom of Italy, formed out of the ashes of the Italian remnant states, had become a regional power by the early 1980's. Following an agreement with the former Italian government and the Confederation Islands, the occupied regions of Lazio, liberated from the zombie horde, were transferred to the proclaimed Kingdom of Italy, a monarchy state with Rome as its capital. The monarchist regime in Italy grew to become overly imperialistic in the eyes of many central and southern European governments. In 1985 the Italian government sent a controversial expedition to Hong Kong, despite attempts from the government of Hong Kong and Wu, who frowned upon the attempts to colonize Chinese land. Wu immediately sent 10,000 soldiers to the city of Shenzhen and three destroyers to the Pearl River Delta, adjacent to Hong Kong. The city of Hong Kong was heavily fortified, awaiting Italian invasion. When the Italian expedition arrived near the Chinese coast, it was greeted by Chinese destroyers, ordering the Italians to withdraw. After a lengthy and expensive colonial failure, the Italians finally withdrew from China in Autumn of 1987, thawing Italy's plans for a colony on the Asian continent. In 1986 similar expansion attempts were launched by the Italian government to annex the northern states of Italy, which had since largely been dominated by Venice and Lombardy. In early 1987 Italian forces attempted to enter the city of Milan, eventually causing the Lombardian Revolution. Despite tensions building over the occupation in Lombardy, eventually escalating into revolution, plans were also made by the Italian government for an invasion of Switzerland and other European nations. Groups of Praetorian guards, elite Italian special forces, were ordered to sweep into Yugoslavia, claiming that they were trying to free the Croatians from the Yugoslavian oppressors. Attempts were made by the Italian government to use the forces stationed in Croatia to create an Italian puppet state. Intelligence agents were stationed in the nation, sabotaging the Croatian military and resistance movements. By 1987 Italy had laid claim to Malta, Croatia, Venice, and Switzerland, despite the presence of legitimate governments in these regions. This aggressive expansion would eventually prompt the nations of Venice, Croatia, and Switzerland to form the military alliance later known as the Central Alliance. This alliance would later extend to Austria and her German allies through the Holy Roman Empire, turning the alliance into a powerful regional force. Overview After a massive buildup of Central Allied forces in northern Italy, especially in Lombardy where the recent revolt gave fruit to a Venetian puppet, war officially broke out on 2 April 1988. With the majority of the Italian navy along the coast of Yugoslavia, the allied navies were assembled to launch a join attack, hopefully cutting away all Italian naval support. After a decisive battle over the Adriatic Sea the Italian navy was heavily damaged. The majority of the pre-apocalypse Italian navy was captured or sunk, with the remainder damaged and withdrawn to Taranto. While stationed there some of the Italian sailors entered the city hoping to find supplies, but encountered heavy zombie resistance. With Italy's navy caught in the south or eliminated, about 150,000 allied soldiers were prepared to invade Italy. The invasion commenced with allied forces surrounding Rimini. In the west soldiers also entered Tuscany through the heavily fortified region of Lombardy, where they encountered heavy resistance. Austrian Hegemony By the late 1980's the nation of Austria had established itself as a powerful regional power and leader in central European-related matters. Austria was also known primarily as the main German state among the Holy Roman War, indirectly controlling most of central Europe through the organization. Military Equipment Weapons Naval Vessels *Aircraft carriers (Flugzeugträger) - 9 **Forrestal-class supercarrier (80,000 tonnes) ***A001 ***A002 Prince Albert (2001-Present) **Habsburg-class supercarrier (100,000 tonnes) ***A003 Karl von Habsburg (2003 - Present ***A004 Maria Theresa (2004 - Present) ***A005 Charles the Hammer (2004 - Present) ***A006 Großdeutschland (2005 - Present) ***A007 Vienna (2006 - Present) ***A008 Franz Joseph (2006 - Present) ***A009 Schönbrunn Palace (2006 - Present) Category:Nations (Night of the Living Alternate History Map Game)